Content warning: This story contains descriptions of gun violence.
A new student in kindergarten at Willard Elementary School in Evanston/Skokie District 65, who just started the school year with other local students last Wednesday, was critically injured in a Rogers Park shooting on Sunday, Aug. 28, Superintendent Devon Horton told district families in a Monday afternoon email.
The student, a 5-year-old boy, was shot in the head and taken to Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, where he remains in critical condition, according to the Chicago Police Department.
The boy was with a 25-year-old man in a car traveling down North Paulina Street just after 5 p.m. Sunday when someone pulled up next to their vehicle and opened fire, CPD said. The man was shot in the shoulder and the left hand but he took himself to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, where he was in good condition, according to police.
As of Monday afternoon, no one had been arrested, and CPD detectives are investigating the shooting. Evanston police “can’t release anything about this investigation,” EPD Commander Ryan Glew told the RoundTable.
“I truly appreciate and value our Willard school community’s commitment to loving and supporting this family during this very difficult time,” Horton wrote. “We ask that everyone continue to keep this student and his family in your thoughts at this time.”
In the meantime, Horton referenced advice from the National Association of School Psychologists, encouraging parents to “reassure children that they are safe” and “make time to talk.”
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.